BELFAST, Northern Ireland, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A Belfast bank employee was charged with robbery Wednesday in connection with last year's $45 million Northern Bank robbery, Britain's largest ever.
Chris Ward, 24, was arrested at 1 a.m., and appeared in court hours later, Sky News reported.
Ward was a supervisor at the bank's cash center, and said in interviews that an armed gang tricked their way into his home on Dec. 19 and held his family hostage, threatening to kill them unless he took part in the heist the following night.
Three people have been charged with aspects of planning the raid or with obstructing the police investigation, but Ward is the first person to face a direct charge of robbery, The Times of London reported.
Niall Murphy, Ward's lawyer told the Belfast Telegraph: "My client continues to protest his innocence."
About $8.5 million of the stolen bank notes have been seized by police across the border in Cork, but the rest is missing. Police have said the degree of organization made it likely the Irish Republican Army was involved in the heist.
